Chapter 26 #3
“I thought . . . I thought you were with Nikki. Mated for life. That’s the only reason I ran and pushed you away. I didn’t want to get involved. I hated the spirits for making me feel this way.”
In seconds, he’s back in human form, and walks over to me. He pulls my hand for me to stand, and I look up at him.
“Feel what way?”
This is crazy. I can’t . . . This isn’t normal.
“Red, don’t hold out on me now.” He runs his fingers down my neck.
“Like I’ll never get enough. You’re the one, and if you don’t feel the same, I know I’ll have to accept being alone forever because the universe loves to play cruel jokes on me.”
He leans down, and the world fades away.
Stark lifts me up, wrapping my legs around his hips, then bends down, lowering me to the ground.
His lips never leave mine, the tingles singing across my body.
I rock my hips into his, and he presses down with the full length of his body.
I reach down for his shirt, my fingers finding the end so I can rip it up over his head.
I trace my fingers over his skin as Stark tears my shirt in two, then lowers his warm lips down my neck.
Each kiss sends shivers across me. He cups my breast.
“Stark,” I gasp. Arching into him, there’s no stopping as I pull him back up to kiss me so I can reach the hem of his pants. I tuck my fingers inside and run them along his skin.
He shifts up, his length pressing right where I want it. I go to pull them down, but Stark’s hand grabs my wrist.
He shakes his head. “Red, slow down.”
“No,” I say, trying to fight his grasp.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You won’t. I want this.” The dampness in my shorts is growing and I need him.
He lets go and runs his fingers through my hair. “You’re not a werewolf. I could hurt you.”
I want to tell him, to show him, but I can’t.
“I’m not breakable. I can heal myself.”
“I never want to be the reason you have to mend yourself. We’ll figure it out, take it slow.” He kisses my forehead.
“I like it hot and heavy,” I say, pulling him down for a kiss.
“Red, you have no idea how long I’ve wanted this.”
“Then don’t stop.” I trace my lips up to his ear. “Please. I want you, Alpha.”
His hips surge forward and press me into the ground. I smile and go to kiss him, but he turns his head.
“I can’t.” He gets up off me, and the tingling sensations tries to reach out to him.
I sit up and sigh. “It’s okay if you, like, changed your mind. I know I’m not what you pictured for a mate.” I reach for my shirt, but it’s shredded. I’m sure he’s slept with humans in the past.
“No.”
My heart sinks, and I let the fire flame in my hands, covering my exposed skin.
Stark reaches out to grab them. “I want all of you. I’ll let you burn me a million times.” He turns over his red hand.
“Sorry.” I pull my hand away, but he moves closer and picks me up into his arms. I wrap my hot legs around him. A smile lights up his eyes, and I’ll never get tired of them.
“So, can I call you my mate now?” He lowers me down to my feet.
Did he just ask me that?
“There are things you don’t know about me,” I say, moving to look beyond the cliff.
He kisses my forehead. “Is it going to hurt me if I find out?”
“It might.” If they kill me, mates suffer when their partners pass. I was too young to see it in my mom, but Pratt talked about it sometimes. “I don’t know what will happen.”
“Can you tell me now?” He wraps his arms around my waist from behind, and I lean into his bare chest.
“I’m not certain if I can ever tell you.” It hurts to admit.
“Pratt knew. Have you ever told anyone else?”
I search his eyes, unsure what I would need to tell him the truth. “Yes, he did, but that’s not the same . . . No one else has ever known.” He was my brother. He always put me first, even when I wished he didn’t.
“Then I’m only going to ask you this once more. Are you my mate?”
“I find you prefer to make decisions for others.”
He doesn’t answer, and I turn to see his blue eyes full of questions.
“Stark, I‘m yours for life.” I kiss his cheek, and he spins me around, lifting me into the air. I laugh, and so does he.
“My . . . ?” He drags the word out, waiting for me to finish the sentence.
A smile crosses deep into my cheeks. “Your mate.”
“I am never going to let you go.” He lowers me against his chest, and the tingles hum more than ever between us. From head to toe, they crawl, making the magic’s heat less front and center.
“We should keep it quiet. Until after all this mess with the Uprising is done.”
His hot breath brushes my ear. “Why? I’d mark you tomorrow.” He’s just being sweet. You have to mark each other in your werewolf form, but it hurts more than I can admit.
“I can’t mark you back.” At least, not if I don’t tell you the truth. “I just want to be happy with you for a bit to myself.”
“Okay, mate. As you wish.”
He pulls his shirt off and slides it over my head, then we stroll down the cliffside in the dark together. I don’t listen for a thing, just humming along. Stark smiles, and a few times, he tugs me into his arms for a kiss.
Outside the open yard of the house, he pushes me up against a tree.
“Do we have to wait?” I wanted him before, but now the need is unrelenting.
“I’m not going to hurt you.”
“What if I like a bit of pain?” I bite my lip.
“Red.” His voice gets deep, and a growl comes from the back of his throat. “Don’t push me.”
“Fine.” I wiggle my hips into him, but he holds them in place, his blue eyes glowing in the treed darkness. I sigh as he presses his lips to my forehead.
“We should go check on the others.”
My head bobs in agreement, and he lowers me down to the ground. For a moment, neither of us moves. Then I let my fingers brush his as we leave the tree cover and head toward the house. Jocko comes up, and Kiya is right behind him. Stark keeps walking toward the house without looking back.
“Did he tell you what was wrong? Why are you wearing his shirt?” Kiya asks.
I wipe the smile off my face. “I fell in the mud, and no, he didn’t. He’ll be okay now, though, I think.”
My mate . . . hmm.
The house is still full of people when we enter. I look, but don’t see Darwin. The tension in my shoulders lowers a bit. Stark is over talking with Oliver, and his gaze finds mine. I give him the smallest smirk and he returns one. The butterfly sensation wraps me like a hug. This is addiction.
Nikolas joins us for more talks about what’s to come. Everyone plans to meet at Stark’s in the next week or so, to organize an official operation against the Uprising.
“You can sleep in here.” Nikolas shows Kiya, Jocko, and me to a bunkroom. I sit at the edge of the bed as Kiya climbs up first, then Jocko takes the one below.
“Not tired?” he asks.
“I’m going to get some water,” I say, ducking out. I feel for the tingles, letting them guide me to the meeting room. Stark sits alone, staring at the painting in his hands.
“Hi,” I say. The room is quiet as I walk over and sit next to him on the cedar bench.
“Hello, mate.” He leans over and kisses me.
I cup his face and pull him in tighter.
When he sits up straight, he looks at me, then back at the painting. “It tells me everything, doesn’t it? If I knew?” he asks, rubbing his thumbs along the frame.
“It does.” I lean into him, not hiding the heat coursing below my skin.
With Pratt’s and Mom’s eyes on me, I wonder what they’d think of me now.